Conservative name / Progressive Perspective

Back on October 30, 2007, a draft law was put forward to end Paul Bremmer’s Order 17, which granted immunity from Iraqi law to Multinational Force (MNF), MNF civilian personnel, Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), Consultants, Foreign Liaisons, Contractors and others. Order 17 (implemented in 2004) placed all of these people and corporations and entities outside of all Iraqi jurisdiction and law.(more…)

Hey Pelosi? Is impeachment still off the table with the information from Scott McClellan’s publisher that he was told to lie about the leaking of Valerie Plame’s identity by Cheney and Bush (along with Card, Libby, and Rove)?(more…)

I am fed up and more than ticked off by most of the Congress and by the Democratic Presidential candidates. Remember the expansion of the Bush’s illegal wiretapping? Remember the temporary expansion of the FISA extension than Representative Harman was passed based on hyped security threats? WHY are the Democrats passing these attacks on civil liberties and Constitutional protections?(more…)

Many people have been saying that the invasion (and occupation) of Iraq is about oil. I believe that there is more than oil involved, but certainly oil was a driving motivator. Now we can add Alan Greenspan to the list of those who reinforce that claim. Greenspan writes in his new book The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World:

‘I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.’

The Democrats caved in and supported the supplemental occupation funding demanded by the Bush Cabal. The arguments apparently being that they a) didn’t have the votes to overcome a veto; b) they didn’t want to be blamed for the growing death and chaos; c) the belief this keeps Iraq the Republican’s adventure; d) perhaps – because the PSAs haven’t been signed yet. Regardless, the considerations were political – not moral – not responsive to the mandate that the November elections sent. The arguments now are that they can revisit the funding issue in September – 4 months from now – 122 days from June 1 to September 31. Given a rough average death toll of five US troops and 50 Iraqi civilians, that makes a low estimate of 6710 (610 US troops, 6100 Iraqi civilians) deaths for buckling on the funding.(more…)

I share with many of you a growing sense of anger and frustration at the constantly worsening situation in Iraq. Now, the “surge” is in place, and “gated communities” are being delineated over the objections of both Shia and Sunni residents. The Democrats have put on a good show of trying to rein in Bush, and have been rejected. However, are they really trying to rein him in, or just playing their part in an intricately choreographed deception?

Bush says that there is no plan other than his plan for Iraq. Obviously that is not true – remember to Iraq Study Group. However, there is an other plan, and a much more detailed plan than Bush’s “surge.” It is H.R. 508 – Bring the Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2007.

The corporate media has been bad mouthing the “non-binding” agreements being put forward in the House and the Senate against Bush’s sending of over 20,000 new troops to Iraq. However, I do not feel that the non-binding agreements are necessarily either “worthless” or “pointless.”

The U.S. network news reports conveniently leave out the information that target of “the raid” that resulted in the continued detention of “five Iranians,” was an Iranian consulate. It was not just “some place.” It was a particular place. It was not just “five Iranians.” It was five members of the Iranian Consulate in Irbil, Iraq. Those are critical pieces of information, make all the difference between protecting Iraq’s security, and essentially attacking the sovereign territory of Iran – an act of war. Iran has thus far refused to be provoked into a retaliatory act which could be used by Bush to legitimate a war on Iran. The presentation of this in the U.S. news is spin – the same kind of spin and half-truth that got us into Iraq.